A Thousand Words
by SophieWofy
Summary: I can’t teach her anymore, so I figured it was time she went to a proper school.' Left at Waterloo Road by her mother, new girl Sally remains practically mute. Rachel thinks it's just nerves, but what if there was another reason behind Sally's silence?
1. Can you take her?

A new term, thought Rachel Mason as she sat down at her desk, but still the same old Waterloo Road. There wasn't much to do before the doors opened once more, except brief the rest of the staff and file the rest of the LEA reports about what happened with Max.

Even seeing his name on a piece of paper caused her to shudder. It wasn't the fact that he'd tried to control the school with a rule of terror, but the way he'd hurt Philip was too much for her to bear. Ever since she'd found out what had happened, Rachel had become rather protective towards her nephew, much to his annoyance, though his blossoming romance with Ros gave him an excuse to get out of the house much more than before. The girl had also won Rachel's approval, so she was perfectly happy to let Philip spend time with her.

That was where he was now, while Rachel finished the last minute preparations at school. As she closed the file and headed towards the staff room, she was greeted by a bedraggled woman with a child shrinking behind her.

"Can I help you?" Rachel asked, holding out a hand. "Rachel Mason, I'm the head teacher here."

"Can you take her?" the woman asked, pulling the young girl forward. She, too, was rain-soaked, and the thin cardigan she wore didn't provide much protection against the elements.

"I'll have to get you to fill in some forms," Rachel explained. She crouched down to the girl's height. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Sally Parseri," she whispered, shaking.

"Ok, Sally, we'll find a space for you in this school, don't you worry. How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Right. Mrs Parseri, if you'd like to follow me into my office, then we can get Sally registered at Waterloo Road."

Reluctantly, Sally followed her mother and Rachel into the office. She stood silently by the door as Rachel rummaged in her desk for some forms.

"What school did you go to before, Sally?"

"I didn't."

"She was home schooled," Sally's mother explained. "But I can't teach her anymore, so I figured it was time she went to a proper school."

"Alright. Well, I'll need you to fill in these forms, and I'll get you a timetable sorted for today, Sally. Do you have any other clothes with you? You look freezing."

"I'm fine," Sally told her quietly as Rachel logged onto her computer and sent a piece of paper spewing from the printer.

"Alright. Well, here you go. I'm putting you in class 8E. I'll take you around in a few minutes and show you where your lessons are."

"They're done," Mrs Parseri announced, sliding the forms over the desk towards Rachel and turning for the door. "Bye, Sally."

"Bye," Sally whispered as her mother left without even a hug or kiss.

Rachel watched, dumbfounded. The woman hadn't even wished her daughter a good first day or made sure she was alright. The family set up seemed rather odd, but it wasn't her place to question.

"I'm going to see if we can find you a uniform for today," Rachel explained, holding out a hand to the shy youngster, who simply nodded as she took hold. Rachel led her out through the reception to the lost property box, where she rummaged through. Most of the jumpers were much too big for the petite girl, but she found one that seemed as though it wouldn't drown her, and a shirt of a similar size. There were a pair of trousers, too, that were quite obviously a boy's, yet were the only pair that would fit. She handed the clothes to Sally and showed her to the toilets. "I'll wait out here while you change."

Sally nodded, and Rachel leant against the door. There was something a little peculiar about the girl, but she knew from experience she would open up in her own time if she really wanted to. All she needed now was support.

Sally emerged from the toilets in a slightly oversized yet otherwise suitable uniform, her damp clothes clutched tightly in her arms.

"Shall I put them in my office for the day," Rachel asked, "and then you collect them at the end?"

Sally nodded again and followed Rachel back to her office, where she bagged the garments up and wrote Sally's name on the side before putting them under her desk. Suddenly, the bell to signal the start of the school day rang, and Sally jumped with fright.

"It's alright, that's just the bell," Rachel explained, taking her by the hand. "It means school's about to start, is all." Trying to calm the girl down, she sat on her chair and pulled her close. "You don't have to worry, you know. It's going to be different here, but it doesn't have to be bad."

Yet another nod.

"I was nervous when I first came here, too," Rachel continued. "You'll make lots of friends really quickly, though. There's some really nice people in your form. How about I take you to meet some of them?"

Sally nodded once more, and Rachel knew it was no good trying to get her to speak. She led her to 8E's form room, where Chris Mead was taking registration. Helen Hopewell's departure at the end of the previous term and no immediate replacement meant that 8E needed a form tutor, and Chris had been more than happy to oblige.

Rachel knocked on the door, interrupting the register. "Mr Mead, this is Sally, she's new to the school. I want you lot to make her feel welcome."

Chris smiled. "Hi, Sally. I'm Mr Mead, your form tutor. Emily, will you move up a seat so Sally can sit next to you and Denzil?"

Emily shuffled up a seat to let the newcomer sit down, but Sally didn't move from Rachel's side.

"Go on," Rachel persuaded her. "You'll be fine." Turning to Chris, she mouthed, "keep an eye on her."

Chris nodded his acknowledgement. "Right, settle down, you lot. I know it's the first day back but that doesn't mean you can talk through the register. Denzil Kelly?"


	2. The silence, it speaks so loud

"First lesson", Emily explained to Sally as she demonstrated how to use a timetable properly (and not as a paper aeroplane, as Denzil had unhelpfully suggested), "is French with Miss Lipsett. Do you know any French?"

Sally shook her head.

"Don't worry, Miss Lipsett's really good. She'll help you catch up really quickly."

"Yeah," Denzil agreed as they joined the line outside the classroom. "Ain't that right, Bianca?"

"What's that?" Bianca asked, leaning in between Denzil and Emily.

"Miss Lipsett's a great teacher."

"Well, I'm glad you think so, Denzil." Jo Lipsett smiled as she walked past the line. "In you go."

"You can sit next to me," Emily told Sally as they went to the middle aisle. Denzil pulled out a chair next to Bianca and sat down.

"_Bonjour, la classe_," Jo announced.

"_Bonjour_, Mademoiselle Lipsett," came the echoed response. Only Sally stayed silent.

"Right, pens out. I hope you've all revised over the holidays, because you've a test today." A unanimous groan rose up as Jo handed out the test papers. Stopping at Sally's desk, she bent down. "_Bonjour_. I'm Miss Lipsett, your French teacher. Have you done any French before?"

Sally shook her head.

"_Jamais_. Right. I'll tell you what, why don't you pull up a chair next to my desk and I can teach you a few basics while this lot do the test. How does that sound?"

Sally nodded and followed Jo to the front of the class. Searching through the cupboard, Jo found a few worksheets from the year seven workbook and set them on the desk. Quietly as so not to disturb the other students, Jo proceeded to help Sally learn a few French words. Getting the young girl to speak was a difficult task, she found, but eventually she managed a correctly-pronounced '_bonjour'._

The bell went a lot sooner than Jo expected, and was startled to see Sally trembling at the sound. Several of the other students sniggered at this, and Jo glared at them.

"You've got a lesson to go to, so clear off."

Emily, Bianca and Denzil hung back to wait for Sally.

"It's alright," Emily told her, touching her arm. "It's only the bell."

Sally nodded.

"You three'll look after her, won't you?"

"Of course, Miss," Denzil smiled.

"Good." Patting Sally reassuringly on the back, she watched the four children leave the classroom.

It wasn't until Rachel briefed the rest of the staff at break time that Jo realised the full extent of Sally's quietness. The girl had never been in a school before, and was obviously overwhelmed by the whole situation. Given careful monitoring and a little coaxing, over time it was hoped she would open up and accept the school life like any other student.

Tom was the next teacher to take Sally's class, and like he had been warned would probably happen, the girl stayed silent. The same happened in Chris' lesson. It wasn't until art with Kim last period that she finally opened up.

A new term meant a new project, and to try and tie in the school's pastoral support with the lessons, Kim had selected to get the children to look at emotion through art. The first task was simple: she presented each child with a piece of plain paper and a selection of paints, and asked them to convey how they were feeling at the moment.

Some were predictable: red blobs for anger, yellow swirls for happiness. Denzil's was a big black circle with a blue centre, and when questioned, he explained it was a black eye which his baby brother had given him over the holidays. Emily's was a colourful representation that vaguely resembled tartan, except the paint had run. Bianca's picture was covered in handprints, with red and orange flame-like streaks over them. But it was Sally's that stood out to Kim the most.

A stick figure was painted in the middle, surrounded by concentric circles of various colours, each with blobs on them. There was a sad expression on the stick figure's face, and Kim knew instantly it was supposed to be Sally.

The bell went for the end of the lesson, and while most of the kids surged out, thankful school was over, Sally lurked behind. She went over to Kim, and quietly stood behind her as she washed up the paintbrushes.

"Oh, hello Sally. I didn't see you there. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"I like art."

"That's fantastic to know. You know, if you ever want to come along at lunch and do some painting, you're more than welcome to."

Sally nodded, immediately closing up. As she left the classroom, Kim wondered whether she had just managed to get the most out of Sally that anyone had all day. The lesson had been a success, if only for those three words. She made a point to mention it to Rachel when she saw her.

Rachel herself was in her office, reading through a report when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, closing the file and setting it down. "How was your day, Sally?"

Sally nodded. "Ok."

Rachel leant under her desk and brought out the carrier bag. "Here you go. I put it on the radiator so it dried off for you, but it's all in there." She handed it to Sally, who clutched it tightly. "Is your mum going to pick you up?"

Sally shook her head.

"So you're going home on your own? Do you know the way?"

Sally shook her head once more.

"Ok. Do you want me to take you?"

A nod.

Rachel opened her drawer and brought out the form Mrs Parseri had filled in that morning. "Right, here we go. 42 Reynolds Place. I'll walk you there, so you can try and remember the way. Is that alright with you?"

Sally nodded again. Rachel picked up her phone from the desk and led Sally out of the office. Passing Chris on the stairs, she quickly explained where she was going.

It was a ten minute walk to the address Rachel had copied onto the back of her hand. Part of one of the roughest areas in town, Sally held her hand tightly. Rachel knocked on the front door, to be greeted by an obese man smoking a cigar.

"Mr Parseri? I'm Rachel Mason. I've brought Sally home."

"Parseri?" The man grunted. "No-one of that name here. I'm Jones. And I've never seen that girl before in my life."

"Sally?" Rachel crouched down to her level. "Is this where you live?"

Sally shook her head.

Rachel stood up again. "Ok, well I'm sorry to bother you, Mr Jones. It seems I've been given the wrong address." She led Sally down to the end of the drive and pulled out her mobile. "Kim? It's Rachel. I want you to confirm Sally Parseri's address for me." Upon hearing her name, Sally looked up, worried. "Definitely number 42? Right. And the phone number?" Rachel scrawled the digits on her arm. "Ok, thanks a lot, Kim."

"Ok, Sally. It seems your mum's made a mistake filling in the form. I'm going to try and call her, and find out where it is you actually live."

Sally simply nodded as Rachel dialled the number. "Hello, is that Mrs Parseri?"

"Parseri? Never heard of her. I think you've got the wrong number, love."

"Oh. Ok. Well, then, I'm very sorry to have bothered you." Rachel hung up and turned back to Sally. "She's not answering. I'll take you back to the school, and we'll see what we can do about getting hold of her from there." Suddenly, Mrs Parseri's words from earlier clicked into her head.

_Can you take her?_

What if she didn't mean just taking her into the school? Hoping for the best but fearing the worst, Rachel and Sally headed back to Waterloo Road.


	3. Home and dry

Chris Mead settled down on his sofa with a can of beer and flicked on the television. The smell of cooking wafted out from the kitchen and the sound of laughter filled the back room. He was passionate about his job, but even happier when he could get home and spend time with his wife Maria and kids Abigail and Sean.

"Good day at work?" Maria asked, walking into the living room.

Chris nodded. "Same as ever. How about you?"

"Not bad. I found one of Daniel's socks down the side of the bed when I was cleaning."

"How much more stuff can that boy leave behind? I suppose it's his way of not being forgotten in a hurry."

"Not that I can ever forget any of the kids." Maria looked across to the sideboard, where a selection of photos featured Sean and Abigail at various stages of their childhood with an assortment of foster siblings. "Anyway, dinner's ready, so you'd better go round the kids up."

Chris stood up and turned off the television, walking through into the dining room. "Who's ready for dinner?" he asked.

"Daddy!" Six year old Sean rushed at Chris, waving a piece of paper in his hand. "Look what I got!"

Chris inspected the piece of paper carefully. "A certificate for getting ten out of ten in three spelling tests in a row? Wow. You're so clever. Well done, Scamp."

Sean giggled at the use of his nickname. "I wanted to put it on the fridge, but Mummy says it might get dirty."

"Mummy's right. Now, if you two go and wash your hands, then we can sort out putting it up somewhere safe after dinner."

Sean and his sister, eight year old Abigail, raced out of the room and up the stairs. Chris set the certificate on top of the bookshelf so it wouldn't get ruined.

As the family tucked into their evening meal of sausages and mash, a knock at the doorbell interrupted them.

"I'll get it," Maria offered, pushing her chair back with her feet. She stood up and went to the door, her two children straining to hear the conversation.

"Stop being nosy, you two," Chris reprimanded them as he tucked into his own dinner.

"But I want to know what's going on," Abigail told him.

"If it's important, you'll find out soon enough. If it's not, then you won't need to worry about grown-up stuff."

Maria emerged in the doorway, a man beside her. "Chris, it's social services. A quick word."

Chris stood up. "You two, finish your food, and don't be such nosy parkers." He went into the hallway with Maria and the social worker. "What's up?"

"We've got a young girl here, her mother dropped her off at a new school this morning but gave a false address and phone number. The poor kid's got nowhere to go, as we can't contact the parents and she's no idea where her house is. She was a home educator before and it seems she's not on our system. We're doing our best to track down the parents but it's proving difficult. Could you take her for a couple of days, just while we sort out what's going on?"

"Of course. Poor thing, we'd love to look after her." But as he spoke, Chris had a suspicious feeling he knew who the girl was. And if he was right, it wasn't a good sign.

"Alright. We'll go and get her from the car." The social worker left the front door open, sending a blast of arctic wind into the house as Chris and Maria watched them.

His suspicions were confirmed as a girl in a red jumper emerged from the car. Rachel obviously hadn't succeeded in tracking Sally's mother down.

"Sally, this is Chris and Maria. They're going to be looking after you until we can find your mum, ok?"

Sally blinked and looked up at the couple.

"Ok, Sally, we'll let you know as soon as we find your mum, alright? Until then, you're in safe hands here." The social worker mouthed "call you later" to Maria, who nodded in reply.

The front door closed and Sally continued to stare at Chris. "Mr Mead."

"Yep, that's me," Chris smiled. "Though you can just call me Chris now, it's fine. Are you hungry?"

Sally nodded.

"Ok, I'll put you some food on. Until then, you can go and watch some TV with Sean and Abby when they're finished eating. They're my children, and they live here too."

"We've finished," Abigail called from the dining room. "May we get down please?"

Maria stuck her head around the dining room door. "Two clean plates? Of course you can. But before you go anywhere, I want you to meet Sally. She'll be staying a while with us."

"Hello," the siblings chorused as they appeared in the doorway.

"I'm Sean," Sean introduced himself, "and I'm six. I got a certificate for being really good at spellings."

"I'm Abby," Abigail cut in. "I'm eight, and I'm a really good dancer. Do you dance?"

Sally shook her head.

"I'll teach you."

"Kids, Sally doesn't talk that much, so don't try to make her. Just go through and put CBBC on for a bit while your dad and I finish our dinner."

"Come on!" Sean tugged at Sally's jumper. "I'll show you all my toys later if you want."

Chris rolled his eyes as he went back into the dining room. "Poor kid," he told Maria quietly. "She's one of mine, and I thought something was up earlier. I didn't realise the mother had abandoned her, though."

"Some people can be so cruel. Still, we'll look after her. Her being your student's not a problem, is it?"

Chris shook his head. "From what Rachel said, she's practically mute. I think it's better her being with someone she knows, even if it is only as her teacher. A bit of consistency could do her good. If I can bond with her, I can make a breakthrough."

"But if you don't, it could isolate her even more."


	4. Time to pretend

Chris woke up to the sound of crying. Checking Maria was still asleep next to him, he pulled on a discarded jumper over the top of his pyjamas and made his way through the darkness into the hallway. Pausing before he stepped on the creaky floorboard, he strained to hear which of the three other bedrooms the sound was coming from. Abigail's door was shut firmly, and from Sean's open door he could hear the faint rumble of snoring, so he figured it had to be Sally. Tiptoeing as so not to wake anyone else, he knocked gently on the door before pushing it open.

"Sally? Are you alright?"

Sally looked up from where she was lying on the floor, duvet over her and pillow under her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Chris turned the light on low. Instantly he saw what had caused her distress: the damp patch on her bed.

"Oh, come here." He crouched down as Sally sat up and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about that. I'll change your sheet, it's not a problem. Everybody has little accidents at times. Are your trousers still wet?"

Sally nodded into his shoulder.

"Alright. Well, get yourself into the bathroom and dried off. If you want a shower, go ahead. I'll sort your sheets out and find a clean pair of trousers." Standing up for Sally to move, he was shocked when she continued to cling to him. "It's alright," he reassured her. "Honestly. I'm not mad at you or anything. I know you're worried, but everything's going to be fine."

Sally nodded and eventually stood up. Wiping her tears on her sleeve, she walked out into the hallway, leaving Chris to strip the sheets. He looked up at the clock on the wall, and saw somehow it was already six in the morning. There wasn't much point in going back to bed now, for either of them.

Sally and Chris were fully dressed and eating breakfast by the time Maria appeared downstairs.

"Morning, you two," she greeted them, kissing Chris on the cheek. "Did you sleep well, Sally?"

Sally shrugged and continued to eat her toast.

"I'm going to drive Sally to school when I go, just so we can sort a few things out with Rachel and Kim. I'm guessing you'll be going to the shops once you've dropped the kids off."

"Yeah. I'll pick you up a couple of school shirts and some other clothes and stuff, Sally. Is there anything in particular you'd like?"

Sally shook her head.

"Ok. I'll see what I can find, then." Maria lifted two packets of cereals from the shelf and set them down just as Abigail raced into the kitchen, closely followed by Sean.

"She pushed me on the stairs," Sean complained.

"Did not."

"Stop it now, you two. What are you having for breakfast?"

While Maria sorted out the squabbling youngsters, Chris readied himself for work. A large pile of marking that was only half-complete sat in a bag by the front door. He pulled his shoes and jacket on, then went back to the kitchen to kiss Maria and the kids goodbye. Sally was waiting by the door, a second-hand bag Maria had found in her wardrobe and now filled with school essentials clutched in her hands.

"Ready?" Chris asked.

Sally nodded and followed Chris out to his car. The more practical, family friendly car remained on the drive as Chris drove his fairly posh Audi to Waterloo Road. He'd splashed out on a new car upon receiving the deputy headship, and was rather proud of his motor.

The journey passed in near silence, with only the radio for company. Chris knew it was pointless pushing Sally for conversation, and while he did make comments, generally at the radio, she generated no response.

Pulling up in the car park, they were greeted by Rachel, who was locking her own car up.

"Morning, Chris." Noticing the extra passenger, she struggled to hide her surprise. "You're looking after Sally?"

Chris nodded. "Maria and I foster. Usually it's younger children, but they asked if we'd take Sally in until they find her parents. I couldn't exactly say no."

"No, of course." Rachel looked through the car window to where Sally was staring at the back of the seat in front. "Poor kid."

Chris opened the car door. "We're here. I don't know where you'll have to go while we have our meeting, but we'll find something for you to do."

Sally stared at him. "Art?"

"You can go to the art rooms if you like," Rachel agreed. "I'll get Kim to unlock it and let you in." Shocked but relieved that Sally had spoken, she and Chris guided her to the art room. It was already unlocked, and Kim was in there, setting out a few materials for her first class.

"Morning," she greeted them. "Sally. I didn't know you'd be here already."

"I brought her with me. We're looking after her at the moment," Chris explained. "She wants to do some painting before school. Any chance of her using your room?"

"Of course," Kim smiled. "You know where all the stuff is. I've got to go for a meeting now, but when the bell goes, if you just put the painting on my desk it can dry."

Sally nodded, and walked over to the paint pots.


	5. Pyromaniac pals

The senior staff meeting was, predictably, in part about Sally. Chris filled Kim and Rachel in on the previous evening's events, only omitting the bed-wetting episode, while Rachel explained how she had come to discover Mrs Parseri had falsified details on the form. There was much more about Sally's background that she doubted, but until the girl wanted to speak, or her parents could be tracked down, that looked set to remain a secret.

Chris returned to his form room as the bell went and was surprised to see Sally already seated at the desk, surrounded by Bianca, Denzil and Emily. His initial reaction was to reprimand the four children for entering a science lab without a teacher present, until he heard laughter coming from Sally's mouth.

"Morning," he greeted them, wiping the whiteboard clean.

"Morning, sir," Bianca replied. "Are we going to be blowing stuff up today? You said we would be yesterday."

"Not until this afternoon," Chris laughed. "You're a little pyromaniac, I swear, Bianca Vale."

"What's that?"

"Someone who's obsessed with fire."

"Not fire, sir. Just you blowing things up. It's fun, and it means we don't have to do any writing."

"Oh, so _that's_ why you like practicals, is it?" Chris chuckled as he opened his desk. Fishing out a whiteboard pen, he wrote the date and a couple of formulas on the board. The rest of his form gradually filed in, several of them pausing to stare at what had been written up.

"Right," Chris announced before he took the register. "A couple of notices. Miss Mason has asked me to remind you all to bring your report slips back from the end of last term; else there'll be phone calls home." A series of groans. "We're predicted icy weather the next few days, so I want you to wear sensible footwear. No heels, girls. If you wear trainers to school, make sure you change and put them in your locker. I don't want you in Nikes all day. And finally, for the nosy ones among you, and yes, I caught you looking as you came in, the stuff on the board is for the year tens. So don't worry about that until you're all old and grey and part of the furniture."

"Like you, sir?"

Laughter filled the classroom as a skinny kid in the back row by the name of Billy called out.

"Like me, yes, Billy. Thanks for that. Now, it's that time of the day you all hate and I love, because you've got to be quiet while I do the register. So, Daisy Ashcroft?"

After dismissing the class, Chris waited by the door until Sally and her friends filed out. "Do you know where you're going for class?"

"We've got Maths," Denzil told him. "We're looking after Sally, so don't worry about her, honest sir. We're her friends and that, like."

"I know, Denzil, it's fine. I believe you. Have a good day, all of you, and I'll see you this afternoon for blowing stuff up, as Bianca phrases it so nicely."

Bianca blushed and hurried out of the classroom behind her friends. Chris chuckled to himself as he returned to his desk. They were good kids, really, he thought to himself as he sorted through a pile of papers to find the year ten homework he wanted to hand back. Something brightly coloured caught his eye, and as he pulled it out, he found a drawing tucked beneath two of the worksheets.

There were four people in blue, and one in red, all holding hands in a field. Chris instantly knew where it had come from, and who it was supposed to represent. Turning it over, he saw in messy handwriting the words 'thank you Mr Mead' scrawled in purple felt tip on the back. Sighing, he put it in his drawer for safekeeping as the year tens filed into their seats.

It wasn't until the afternoon when he saw Sally again. She came into the classroom not as loud as the other kids but talking to Bianca, which he saw as progress. Considering how few words she'd said yesterday, today was a massive step forward.

"Are we going to be blowing stuff up now?" Bianca asked excitedly, taking a front row seat. Sally was sandwiched between her and Emily, with Denzil on the end.

"In a few minutes. Just let the rest of the class get in first, yeah?" Once the seats had been filled, Chris turned to the board and wrote something up. "Mg. Who knows what element that is?"

Emily's hand shot up. "Magnesium, sir."

"And that's exactly what we're going to be burning today. So get your goggles on and bunsens out, and books away."

A cheer went up as stools scraped across the floor. Among the crowds of kids around the cupboard, Sally hung back and walked over to Chris.

"Did you find my picture?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, I did. It's lovely. Thank you."

Sally smiled and joined Bianca at the table, who was enthusiastically setting up all the equipment and explaining it in detail to her.

Chris watched over the class, glad to have such a generally well-behaved and enthusiastic class for his last period. Not like the year tens, who had caused havoc spilling substances over the desk somewhat more deliberately than they tried to make out. Sally seemed to be integrating well, which left Chris with only one concern: where were her parents?


	6. I can't break down

Every day, Sally seemed to be making progress. As the days turned into weeks, Rachel could have sworn it would be impossible to think she was the same girl. The quiet, shy bedraggled girl that had entered her office on the first day of term was now an intelligent youngster with a solid group of friends and a passion for art.

She still remained at Chris' house, after persuading social services that a change in location would potentially undo all the good work they'd done. Maria and Chris were happy to keep her, with Abigail and Sean providing great company at the weekends and in the evenings.

It was nearly the end of term now, and Rachel had all but given up hope of finding out who Sally was, and why she had been dumped at Waterloo Road. That wasn't to say it didn't interest her: she struggled to conceive how someone could just abandon their daughter, but there was no point questioning Sally about it. The girl would tell all if and when she wanted to.

Rachel was in the middle of sorting through the school's financial reports when there was a knock at her office door.

"Come in," she called, standing up. A smartly-dressed woman and a policeman stood in the doorway.

"Miss Mason? I'm Nina White, from social services. I'm here about a pupil of yours, Sally Parseri."

"You've tracked down her parents?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Not exactly. You might want to sit down while I tell you this."

Rachel shut the door and took a seat on the sofa next to Nina. The police officer stood by the door, not speaking.

"You may know that the police recently found a group of bodies in Hemersley Forest."

Rachel nodded, shuddering as she recalled the shocking news from a couple of weeks previously. The bodies of a couple of dozen people had been found, partially rotting, in the middle of the woods by a group of hikers. Among them were a few children, which particularly chilled her to the bone.

"Well, they've managed to discover the identities of several of them. They were part of a religious cult, isolated from most of the world and the leader preached an impending apocalypse. We have reason to believe Sally's mother was part of that cult, and knew of the death pact. She must have managed to smuggle her daughter out of their hideaway to Waterloo Road then returned where she and the others died. Put simply, she brought Sally here to save her life."

Rachel's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, her face paling. "That's- excuse me a minute." She stood up and hurried out of the office to the staff toilets, where she threw up into the bowl. It was too much to take. Tears strewn down her cheeks, she slumped against the side of the cubicle.

It wasn't until there was a knock on the door that she sat up. Chris' voice was calling from the corridor.

"Rachel? Are you in there?" The door opened slowly and Chris walked in. He took one look at Rachel and crouched down beside her. "Rachel? What's wrong?"

Rachel turned her head and sobbed into Chris' chest. "It's horrible," she told him through her tears. "Sally's parents. They were among the bodies in the woods."

"I know," Chris whispered, stroking her hair gently. "I've been in your office for fifteen minutes. They told me. You've been here for half an hour, and they're worried you hurt yourself or something."

Rachel shook her head. "I just can't deal with it, that's all. What do we tell her? She's only a kid, Chris." Gripping his shirt, she tugged at it. "She's a bloody kid. Why us, Chris? Why do we end up with all the problems here? All I want is a normal school. We get guns, we get abductions, we get fi-"

"Shh," Chris soothed, cradling a traumatised Rachel in his arms. He had never seen her so broken, and it scared him to see her in such a fragile state. He'd dealt with kids having breakdowns before; as a foster parent, it often came with the package, but never a colleague. What was he supposed to do, hold her tight and promise everything would be fine even when they both knew it wasn't the case?

Instead, he let Rachel soak his shirt with her tears until she had no more left to cry, stroking her back reassuringly and whispering calming words into her ear. He knew how dodgy the situation would look if another member of staff walked in, and the last thing he wanted was word getting round the school. Once Rachel had calmed down enough, he stood up and helped her to her feet.

"Wash your face, and we'll go back to your office," he told her. Rachel obeyed, running the tap and splashing cold water over her face.

"Thanks," she mouthed as they left the toilets and walked along the corridor. Chris nodded, understanding. Thankfully, lessons were still going on, and there was nobody in the corridor to notice her red face.

"Miss Mason." Nina stood up as Chris and Rachel entered the office. "Are you alright?"

Rachel nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's a perfectly natural reaction when you hear things like that. Anyway, I've had a chat with Mr Mead here, who's been fostering Sally, and we think it's in her best interest that she isn't told about this. We'll say her mother was knocked down by a car. It's not ideal, lying to her, but if she knew the truth she'd be scarred much more than she probably already is. It's being cruel to be kind. You do understand, don't you?"

Rachel nodded again. "I agree." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "Thank you."

"It's my job," Nina told her, dismissive of the comment. "We've also agreed that Mr and Mrs Mead are going to continue looking after Sally until such time comes she wants to leave their care. This is after we've discussed it with Mrs Mead, of course, but Mr Mead seems to think his wife will agree."

"Alright." Rachel looked at Chris. "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"I've got somewhere to be now, but I'll call you tonight to make an appointment with you and your wife. Until then, I'd advise not letting anything on to Sally."

"Ok. Thanks, Ms White." Rachel held the door open for Nina and the police officer to leave. Once the door was shut, and it was just her and Chris, she broke down again.


	7. Nobody chooses their family

As arranged, Nina visited Chris and Maria the following evening. Chris had already warned Maria of what had been said at school, and whilst in deep shock, she was perfectly understanding of the situation.

The kids had been sent to bed at eight, with Sally opting to go upstairs with Abigail and Sean even though she was allowed to stay up later. Although aware of Nina's presence in the house, and despite their desperation to chat with the social worker who had frequently been to their house over the past year, for once Chris and Maria refused to relent.

"It just doesn't make sense," Maria sighed, holding Chris' hand as they sat on their sofa. "I mean, if her mother had been part a religious cult for so long that Sally had never been to school, she must really believe in it. And then to hurry Sally to safety-"

"There's a lot that doesn't add up," Nina agreed. "I doubt we'll find out a lot of what's happened, given that Sally's our only link. But that isn't our priority; she is."

Chris nodded. "We can't focus on trying to find out why Mrs Parseri did what she did, other than out of love. It won't get us anywhere."

A silence dropped in the room. There was the faintest sound of crying, and as Maria stood up to go and check on the children, she noticed Sally standing in the hallway, a glass of water in her hand and tears on her cheeks.

"Oh, sweetheart." Maria reached out her hand to hold Sally's, and hugged her. "Come on, sit down." She guided the youngster to sit between herself and Chris on the sofa. "Are you alright?"

"You're talking about my mum," Sally told her, shaking as she sipped her water. "Which means she's here to talk about me." She pointed at Nina. "Who are you?"

"I'm from social services," Nina explained. "My name's Nina. I came to talk to Chris and Maria."

"Did you find my mum?"

"Not exactly, darling. Listen, I-"

"She's dead, isn't she? They killed her? She told them she wanted to go, that she didn't like what Rory was telling people to do, but he wouldn't listen to her. I wasn't supposed to hear but he was telling all the adults the end was coming, but when I asked my mum she said it wasn't true. The next morning we got up really early and ran away and ended up at Waterloo Road. She said I had to be a good girl and not make a fuss, so I didn't. Then she went back and they killed her because of me. Is Rory going to come after me now? I'm scared, I don't want to die. I like it here." Clinging to Maria, she began to almost scream her cries.

"Who's Rory?" Nina asked.

"He's the leader. Everyone does what he says, apart from my mum. It was him that killed her, wasn't it?"

"Sally, sweetheart, there's something we need to tell you." Taking a deep breath, Chris shook his head at Nina. "Rory's not going to hurt you. He might have killed your mum, we don't know for sure. But he's dead as well. So are the other people you lived with. I'm so sorry."

"Rory's dead?" Sally whispered, looking up. "Were- you know the people they found dead in the woods, that was on the news, is that them? My mum and Rory and everyone."

"I'm really sorry you had to find out like this," Nina told her. "But I've got a couple of things I need to ask you. Was your dad part of the group as well?"

"I don't have a dad," Sally told her. "It was just me and my mum. The only dad I've ever had is Chris."

A tear rolled down Chris' cheek as he heard this, and put a hand reassuringly on Sally's knee. "I'll be your dad as long as you want me to," he promised.

"We're pretty happy with how you're getting on here," Nina told Sally, "and as it seems you've got nobody else to look after you, and Chris and Maria have said they would like to look after you permanently, how do you feel about that?"

Sally's eyes widened. "You mean I can stay here forever?"

"Well, we'll give it a trial run and see how it goes, but possibly," Maria smiled. "Normally we only look after kids for a few weeks at a time, but we really like having you here, and the kids have really bonded with you as well. It's only if you want to, of course; if you're fed up of staying here Nina can sort out you living in a home with other children who are the same age as you. It's completely your decision."

"We understand this is a really big decision to make," Chris continued, "and even if you'd rather live elsewhere, you can still come and visit us whenever you like. You don't have to decide today; Nina will come back in a couple of weeks anyway."

"I don't want to go anywhere," Sally told him. "I've never had a proper family before. When I lived with my mum there were other children there too and they didn't like me because I didn't believe the same as they did, because my mum told me Rory was saying some weird stuff because he was on drugs or something. I believed my mum and I think she nearly got thrown out, but then we wouldn't have anywhere else to go so she and Rory went into a room and when she came out she said we were still staying. It wasn't like a family there, though. It was really weird and I didn't like it there."

"Well, I think that's settled, then," Nina smiled, standing up. "I'll bring some forms around in a few days that you'll need to fill in, but I'm happy to leave you for tonight. I think you need to spend some time with each other."

Chris nodded. "I'll show you out." He stood up and followed Nina to the door. "Thank you."

Nina shook her head. "Thank _you_."


	8. Epilogue

"I want to go with you!" Sean insisted. "It's not fair. I want to go to Waterloo Road too!"

"Not this year," Maria ruffled her son's fair hair. "You're only nine, you've got a couple of years left at primary school yet. You don't want to go there yet anyway, you get too much homework."

Sally laughed at this as she picked up her schoolbag. "Mum's right. I get so much work it's stupid."

Chris came down the stairs, fixing his tie. "Are you ready, girls?"

Abigail nodded. "Bye, Mum." She stood on her toes to give Maria a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Seany."

Chris gave both his wife and son a peck on the cheek. "You, behave yourself."

Sean shot him a grin. "Always."

Chris rolled his eyes and picked up the car keys. "I'll see you tonight." Opening the door, Abigail and Sally raced to the car.

It wasn't an exceptionally long drive to Waterloo Road, and soon he was in the car park. The girls got out first, and Chris waited a minute before locking his car up. It wasn't that they were embarrassed to have their dad drive them to school; it had actually been Chris' idea. It just gave them a little more freedom, and especially as it was Abigail's first day at the school, he didn't want her to have the stigma of being the deputy head's daughter so early on.

"Morning, Chris. Was that your Abby I saw walking by?" Rachel asked as he climbed the steps.

Chris nodded. "First day and all that. She's got Sally to look after her, so I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. She takes after you, after all."

Sally's first port of call once she was in the playground was to track down her group of friends. Her boyfriend Kenny was leaning by the wall along with Denzil, and Emily, Bianca and a couple of other girls were gathered too.

Tapping Emily on the shoulder to attract her attention, she hugged each of her friends in turn before getting a sloppy kiss from Kenny.

"Good holiday?" she asked.

Kenny nodded. "Our Danny won on the horses so we all went to Blackpool for a few days. Hey, is that your kid sister?"

Sally nodded, turning round. "Abby's starting today."

"Is she getting hassle off those year eights?"

Squinting to see, she noticed Abigail and a couple of other new kids surrounded by a gang of year eights. "I don't know."

"I'll go and see. Wait here." Kenny walked over to the group and tapped one of the year eights on the shoulder. "Oy. Are you squirts giving them hassle?"

"No," the kid denied. "We're just making friends, that's all."

"Good. 'Cause if you're lying, you'll be needing your dentist on speed dial."

"Come on," one of the year eights said to the rest. "There's no point wasting our time on these losers."

As the boys scarpered off, Kenny turned to Abigail and the others. "You girls alright?"

Abigail nodded. "Thanks, Kenny." To her friends, she added, "he's my sister's boyfriend."

"If any of you get trouble, just come and get me and I'll sort it out for you." He held out a fist, which Abigail touched with her knuckles. "See you around, Mini Mead."

Heading back to Sally and the others, he looped an arm around her waist. "I've warned them year eights I've got Mini Mead and her mates' back. She shouldn't be getting any more trouble now."

As the bell went, the whole school filed inside. Passing the teachers on the step, Kenny grinned at Chris and Rachel. "'Sup, Mr M. Morning, Miss."

"Morning, Mr Taylor. Are you planning on behaving this year?"

"Of course, Miss. I'm a reformed guy since I started dating the gorgeous Sally here." Squeezing her waist, he winked. "Ain't that right, Mr M?"

Chris nodded. "I have to say, I've seen a noticeable improvement in your grades. It's good to see you back in the sixth form. You'll have to set a positive role model to the younger kids this year. I'm counting on you."

"As ever, sir." Kenny saluted Chris, who rolled his eyes. "The year sevens love me already."

"Come _on_," Sally insisted, pulling Kenny away. "Stop sucking up to Miss Mason and my dad. We're going to be late to registration if you don't hurry up."

True to Sally's prediction, they were last through the door. Grantly Budgen was seated at the front.

"Surprise, surprise. Kenton Taylor, late as usual. And Sally Mead. I see the summer didn't reform your timekeeping, Taylor. What's your excuse this time?"

"I was stopping Mini Mead and her mates from getting hassle off the year eights," Kenny explained.

"Mini Mead?" Grantly repeated. "There's another one of you?"

"My sister Abby," Sally explained, taking a seat next to Emily. "It's her first day." Remembering back to her first day, she shuddered at the memory. It had been the last day she'd seen her birth mother, but had also been the start of her new life, which had culminated in Chris and Maria adopting her. She wouldn't have changed it for the world.

* * *

_A/N: That's all, folks. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. _


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